Clinical Decision Making and Mental Health Service Use Among Persons With Severe Mental Illness Across Europe.

Objective: The study explored relationships between preferences for and experiences of clinical decision making (CDM) with service use among persons with severe mental illness.

Methods: Data from a prospective observational study in six European countries were examined. Associations of baseline staff-rated (N=213) and patient-rated (N=588) preferred and experienced decision making with service use were examined at baseline by using binomial regressions and at 12-month follow-up by using multilevel models.

[P300 in mild cognitive impairment and in dementia].

Objectives: The late component of the event-related potential (ERP), P300 is a marker for cognitive brain functions. The objective of this study was to examine P300 parameters in dementia and in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), to examine whether there is a correlation between the changes in P300 parameters and the type and severity of dementia, and to determine P300 abnormalities in MCI in relation to the presence/absence of CT/MRI abnormalities.

Method: Auditory event-related potentials, P300 were recorded in 28 MCI patients (14 of them with normal CT/MRI findings and 10 subjects with mild ventricular enlargement).

Brain blood flow changes measured by positron emission tomography during an auditory cognitive task in healthy volunteers and in schizophrenic patients.

Objective: Cognitive deficit is an essential feature of schizophrenia. One of the generally used simple cognitive tasks to characterize specific cognitive dysfunctions is the auditory "oddball" paradigm. During this task, two different tones are presented with different repetition frequencies and the subject is asked to pay attention and to respond to the less frequent tone.

[Cognitive functions in prepsychotic and negative-symptom schizophrenic patients].

Background: Relationship between schizophrenia and cognitive functions has been reported by several studies. Our work group examined the changes of cognitive functions in prepsychotic patients without any relevant psychiatric disorder in their anamnesis, and also in schizophrenic patients with predominantly negative symptoms.

Methods: Measures were carried out by Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), a complex computer-based test battery of 13 tests covering a wide range of cognitive functions.

Cognitive functions in prepsychotic patients.

Objective: Cognitive dysfunctions are now widely understood as an essential feature of schizophrenia. A great number of cognitive disturbances have been described in drug-naive first-episode patients as well. The full-blown psychotic symptoms are usually preceded by a longer prodromal period, in which non-specific psychological disturbances are already present.